Harry Kane scored twice as England thrashed Latvia 5-0 on Tuesday to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal were forced to wait to clinch their spot at the finals after being held by Hungary.

Elsewhere, pro-Palestinian demonstrations prefaced Italy's vital win over Israel and Spain took another step towards qualification with a big victory against Bulgaria.

Thomas Tuchel's England brushed aside Latvia in Riga to make it six wins from six in Group K and guarantee top spot before their final two fixtures next month – they have 18 points and an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Albania.

Anthony Gordon opened the scoring before Kane produced a lethal finish and then netted a penalty to make it 3-0 at half-time – the Bayern Munich striker has 21 goals in 13 games this season for club and country.

Maksims Tonisevs scored an own-goal and Eberechi Eze added the fifth, with England now able to look forward to December's draw for next year's finals.

"It comes rarely that you qualify for a World Cup, so the mood is very, very good," said Tuchel.

All 12 group winners in Europe qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going on to play-offs.

Portugal were on the brink of punching their ticket as they led Hungary 2-1 in stoppage time in Lisbon, knowing a win would confirm first place in Group F.

Attila Szalai headed Hungary in front only for Ronaldo to turn in Nelson Semedo's driven cross to equalise midway through the first half.

Ronaldo then converted a Nuno Mendes cross to give Portugal the lead in first-half stoppage time, taking the 40-year-old Al Nassr superstar to an all-time international record of 143 goals in 225 appearances for his country.

He now holds the record for the most goals in World Cup qualifying with 41, two more than retired Guatemala international Carlos Ruiz on 39.

However, Hungary snatched a draw when Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai finished from close range in injury time.

That means Hungary remain five points behind Portugal with two games left and so could still top Group F, while Ireland theoretically could too after Evan Ferguson's header secured a 1-0 victory against Armenia. (AFP)